Obama to Visit Israel, West Bank In Spring

By

Adam Entous and

Colleen McCain Nelson in Washington and

Joshua Mitnick in Tel Aviv

Updated Feb. 5, 2013 7:04 p.m. ET

President Barack Obama plans to visit to Israel, the West Bank and Jordan in the spring, stepping into some of the thorniest foreign-policy challenges facing his second term—Iran's nuclear program, unrest in Syria and long-stalled peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians.

The trip would be Mr. Obama's first visit to Israel as president. He visited the country briefly in 2008 during his first presidential campaign.

U.S. and Israeli officials said the trip would take place after the formation of a new Israeli government, a process that could take weeks. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, after winning a Jan. 22 parliamentary election, this week began formal negotiations with prospective coalition partners.

Mr. Obama spoke to Mr. Netanyahu about the proposed trip during a phone call on Jan. 28, the White House said Tuesday.

U.S. officials said exact dates for the visit have yet to be set. Israeli media reported Mr. Obama would arrive March 20.

The president will also travel to the West Bank and Jordan "to continue his close work with Palestinian Authority officials and Jordanian officials on bilateral and regional issues," White House Press Secretary Jay Carney said.

The visit will test the sometimes-strained relationship between Mr. Obama and Mr. Netanyahu over issues including U.S. calls to freeze Jewish settlement building in the West Bank and Mr. Netanyahu's wish for the U.S. to take a harder line against Iran's nuclear program.

Mr. Obama's nomination of Chuck Hagel to serve as defense secretary stoked concerns in Israel. Some U.S. lawmakers have questioned Mr. Hagel's level of support for Israel.

On Syria, Mr. Obama and Mr. Netanyahu are more in sync. Both have focused on the threat posed by Bashar al-Assad's stockpiles of chemical weapons, warning that their use inside Syria, or their transfer to Hezbollah in Lebanon, would cross a "red line" that could trigger a military response.

Mr. Obama's decision to skip over Israel during previous trips frustrated Israeli officials and the public, who saw it as an effort to distance the U.S. from Israel for the sake of repairing ties with the Arab world. The rift came to head during last year's U.S. presidential campaign when some U.S. officials were offended by what they saw as efforts by Mr. Netanyahu and his supporters to spotlight the prime minister's warm ties to Mr. Obama's rival, Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney. "If you look back at the ups and downs of President Obama's popularity among Israelis, an earlier visit would have been better," said Zalman Shoval, a former ambassador to the U.S. from Mr. Netanyahu's Likud Party. "Better late than never."

Dennis Ross, a top Middle East adviser during Mr. Obama's first term, said the trip was a chance to "forge a new beginning" in relations, although he played down prospects for any breakthroughs.

"It's a chance to take an early trip at a time when he doesn't have to meet a set of expectations, doesn't have to be seen as producing some kind of new outcome," Mr. Ross said.

Mr. Obama's public opinion ratings are worse among Palestinians, who were disappointed the president backed down from a bid to force Israel to agree to a settlement freeze early on in his presidency.

A spokesperson for Mr. Abbas said the Palestinian leadership hadn't been informed by U.S. officials of the plan for the visit, even though Mr. Abbas recently spoke with Mr. Obama's new secretary of State, John Kerry.

"We just heard it from the Israeli media," said presidential spokesman Nabil Abu Rudeineh, who welcomed the visit. "That means that the Americans are going to exert new efforts on the peace negotiations."

U.S. officials said Mr. Obama's priority will be to reassure Israel of his administration's commitment to the country's security and preventing Iran from obtaining a nuclear bomb. Such assurances are meant in part to deter Israel from launching a unilateral strike. Likewise, the visit would help coordinate U.S.-Israeli policy on Syria.

The surprise second-place finish of the centrist Yesh Atid party in Israel's recent election has spurred optimism in the U.S. that Mr. Netanyahu's next coalition will include officials who will push for a resumption of peace talks with the Palestinians.

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